For the collector fanatics among you

[Chain]

This guy was a Radio Station Manager so I would say he was creaming off the promos as they came into the radio station. Usually companies will send more than one copy. Punching holes in promo covers is not something that was usually done here, they usually just have a "Promo Not For Sale" sticker or stamp on the cover/label. A million $ ? Probably not going by some of the records I saw there.

[Digital_Man]

At the 47-second mark, where he's stacking records, he's holding a sleeve-less vinyl with his greasy hands, like it's a Frisbee

Oh are you referring to the Michael Jackson picture disc? That's the only vinyl in there I saw that didn't have a sleeve. Maybe he doesn't like MJ. Also, how do you know his hands are greasy?

[rcarlberg]

Any album that is played should not have "mint" anywhere near it.

Unless it's a CD.

[ronmac]

Unless it's a CD.

I'll say one thing: Mint vinyl is definitely "warmer" than mint CDs.

[Trane]

I'll say one thing: Mint vinyl is definitely "warmer" than mint CDs.

Y-ou could even say that a VG or fair vinyl sounds better than a CD, it still won't convince me to buy vinyls again...

The good thing about a mint CD is that it stays mint, if you treat carefully ior even averagely.... Vinyls always fall from the mint state, whether you listen to them or not.

[Modry Effekt]

Y-ou could even say that a VG or fair vinyl sounds better than a CD, it still won't convince me to buy vinyls again...

The good thing about a mint CD is that it stays mint, if you treat carefully ior even averagely.... Vinyls always fall from the mint state, whether you listen to them or not.

And you don't believe in god either

[Levgan]

And, it's important to look at when they paid it, because prices, for the most part, have come down over the last few years.

Have they? This is an interesting topic. From my experience buying and selling vinyl, I'd say there is a wider discrepancy between different records now than it used to be some years ago. It's as if the collectable things have grown even more collectable, while more common LPs have largely lost in value.

And collectors are typically only interested in pristine copies.

Not all collectors, but rather a subcategory of collectors who are usually referred to as mint freaks. There are a lot of such people around me, for whom a record doesn't exist if it doesn't look like it came out yesterday. Truth be told, I hate this approach 'cause it doesn't really have anything to do with music per se. They want records not for what they are, but rather as collectable objects that they can hang on their wall and boast to their friends. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of trashed LPs either, but a few scuffs or a bit of wear to the cover? What's wrong with that? It's a goddamn vinyl LP, it was made for listening.

[Modry Effekt]

I'll say one thing: Mint vinyl is definitely "warmer" than mint CDs.

I'd trade handful of vg's for mint julep.

[ronmac]

Have they? This is an interesting topic. From my experience buying and selling vinyl, I'd say there is a wider discrepancy between different records now than it used to be some years ago. It's as if the collectable things have grown even more collectable, while more common LPs have largely lost in value.

Well, the most-valuable keep going up, it seems. But, it also seems that any time I look for values of vinyl I have (not the cheapos, but those in the couple hundred range), the prices from a few years go seem to be higher than the most recent. Now, of course, that's only my experience. I have no real hard data to back it up.

[bob_32_116]

This guy was a Radio Station Manager so I would say he was creaming off the promos as they came into the radio station. Usually companies will send more than one copy. Punching holes in promo covers is not something that was usually done here, they usually just have a "Promo Not For Sale" sticker or stamp on the cover/label. A million $ ? Probably not going by some of the records I saw there.

At a recent record clearance sale that I described in another thread, I noticed one of the CD cases had writeen across it in black lettering "stolen from RTRfm". (It wasn't, obviously, because that was the radio station that was selling all the stuff.) That would hardly have added to the item's value from a collector's point of view - though that sale would not have been catering for "collectors", it would have been for people who want to buy stuff and listen to it.

[Rune Blackwings]

Unless it's a CD.

cds are harder to determine unless the dude used it for a coke mirror or a coaster

[Calabasas_Trafalgar]

Have they? This is an interesting topic. From my experience buying and selling vinyl, I'd say there is a wider discrepancy between different records now than it used to be some years ago. It's as if the collectable things have grown even more collectable, while more common LPs have largely lost in value.

Not all collectors, but rather a subcategory of collectors who are usually referred to as mint freaks. There are a lot of such people around me, for whom a record doesn't exist if it doesn't look like it came out yesterday. Truth be told, I hate this approach 'cause it doesn't really have anything to do with music per se. They want records not for what they are, but rather as collectable objects that they can hang on their wall and boast to their friends. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of trashed LPs either, but a few scuffs or a bit of wear to the cover? What's wrong with that? It's a goddamn vinyl LP, it was made for listening.

You can't get much more accurate than this. Those mint freaks make me sick.

[spacefreak]

Those mint freaks make me sick.

True, but they're not in it for the music and this soothes me.

[Rune Blackwings]

I am not that freakish about my collection-I love my music and I want to listen to it. I just like handling my cds and vinyl freakishly so I can enjoy it longer.

[Calabasas_Trafalgar]

True, but they're not in it for the music and this soothes me.

How so?

[JJ88]

^I remember reading elsewhere about a fan who bought some really rare old Blue Note jazz records in a record shop- he got talking to someone and that someone was outraged that he planned to actually play them.

[Rune Blackwings]

To me, it's an insult to not play them. It's like buying a painting or a sculpture, then covering it with a tarp.

[strawberrybrick]

What an interesting collection.

As for condition, I'll take what I can get. I mean, how many copies of Achim Reichel's Echo have I come across for $8?
Not gonna pass on that.

[ronmac]

^I remember reading elsewhere about a fan who bought some really rare old Blue Note jazz records in a record shop- he got talking to someone and that someone was outraged that he planned to actually play them.

To me, it's an insult to not play them. It's like buying a painting or a sculpture, then covering it with a tarp.

Well, if we're referring to very old records, especially 78s, then you can damage them by playing them. Many of those recordings are available as archive releases, so, the best bet would be to find a digital copy, or at least, play it once and record it then. Yes, I understand that a digital copy of a scratchy 78 isn't as warm as the original vinyl, but...

[JJ88]

^No, these were 60s albums- they are rare and valuable, but not like Robert Johnson valuable or anything. I totally agree on the 'handle with care' principle with something like that*. But someone who pays for records like I mentioned is entitled to play them for their own enjoyment, rather than worrying about the selfish with dollar/pound signs in their eyes rather than music in their ears.

*For instance, there's a video out there of the original 78 of Elvis' 'That's Alright Mama' being played by a highly dubious looking tonearm. As a big Elvis fan, I'm grateful to the uploader for allowing people to actually hear and see it, but I don't think you have to be a member of the 'mint brigade' to worry about what's being used to play it...especially as this is the absolute original 'dry' mix for which the tapes were lost decades ago.

[ronmac]

But someone who pays for records like I mentioned is entitled to play them for their own enjoyment,

Of course. Nobody suggested that they weren't. The same way that they are entitled to preserve them in any way they see fit.

[Pr33t]

BTW, just because people ask for prices on auction sites, doesn't mean they're worth it. The best source I know for pricing is Popsike.com, because it publishes what people paid. And, it's important to look at when they paid it, because prices, for the most part, have come down over the last few years.

It really depends on what you're looking for, and who else is looking for it at the same time. European prog in general has been climbing steadily for the past five or so years, in my experience. Obviously a micro portion of the entire vinyl market, but probably a pretty big one for the vinyl collectors here.

Well, the most-valuable keep going up, it seems. But, it also seems that any time I look for values of vinyl I have (not the cheapos, but those in the couple hundred range), the prices from a few years go seem to be higher than the most recent. Now, of course, that's only my experience. I have no real hard data to back it up.

One thing to keep an eye out for are a number of recent reissues that might be deflating the price, or keeping it from increasing. It could also just be that Ebay is truly a supply and demand marketplace. You could have the same guy bidding up an album until he finally gets it, for instance, so you're seeing a number of auctions go in a similar range and then dial back. Or just sheer randomness